Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi today told the British press that she hasn’t any plans to start dating, and to stop asking her, please. Suu Kyi, a widow, says that she intends to focus instead on creating a peaceful revolution in Burma, though when pressed by tabloid journalists finally conceded that obviously she couldn’t rule out dating if the right man came along.

‘The fact that she brought up the subject of dating says a lot about where she’s at,’ noted Daily Express columnist Julia Hartley-Brewer. ‘Her release was a great day for freedom, but more importantly it marked the beginning of the next phase in the democracy campaigner’s quest for love and romantic fulfilment. The question on everyone’s lips now is how quickly she slips back into the Rangoon singles social scene.’

Marianna Holt, writing in The Daily Mail, said: ‘Suu Kyi is bound to feel awkward about getting back on the circuit, especially if she’s the type who doesn’t get out much. However, this doesn’t mean she should sacrifice meeting a nice fella just because she wants a career. What’s the point in having a Nobel Peace Prize if you can’t turn up at the awards dinner with a dishy looking man on your arm?’

Polly Neame, Ladies News Correspondent at the Daily Express, agreed. ‘I guess she’s been meeting a lot of military types, and while it’s true women love a man in uniform, I think in her case she’ll have found them a bit uptight and overly-protective. I’m betting she’s a sophisticated lady with an interest in the arts, interior design and prolonged confinement. She needs to find a man who likes the same things, like that lovely Nelson Mandela. He might even broaden her horizons and get her interested in other stuff, like politics.’

But in a Femail article on what not to wear when resisting political oppression, Suu Kyi was warned to be careful. ‘If she’s planning to wow the guys with flowers in her hair and lots of talk about free and fair elections, she’s quickly going to find that things have moved on since she was last on the market.’

Although now planning her next move against the Burmese military junta, Suu Kyi has nevertheless found time to ask that The Daily Star stop phoning on a regular basis to inform her that rugby player and Strictly Come Dancing star Gavin Henson is ready to love again. ‘Aung San and Gavin may well be dynamite together,’ said her lawyer, ‘but her priority now is to bring democracy to our troubled nation – and definitely before she thinks about meeting and marrying Jean Claude Van Damme and becoming Aung San Van Damme, all-action democracy defender.’